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Toronto – It all started with a $450
demo tape. That tape led series producer/creator Susan Hammond
to make the first Classical Kids recording, Mr. Bach Comes to
Call, in 1988. Twenty years later, Classical Kids has grown to
include best-selling and award-winning CDs, DVDs, educational
resources, books and touring symphony productions.
Hard to believe that such a successful series started out from
Susan Hammond’s dining room table. "One day I was reading to my
girls with some music on in the background," says Hammond. "I
was struck by how they responded to the literature in a
different way when enhanced by the music. I thought ‘I can do
this!’" Her work paid off when, after an appearance on CBC
radio, more than 4,000 listeners called the station, as well as
Hammond’s home, to order Mr. Bach Comes to Call.
Since that time, Classical Kids has created new generations of
classical music fans through its unique blend of dramatic
stories based on historical fact and music from the world's
best-loved composers. The series has achieved some impressive
milestones:
- More than 3 million units sold, including 5 Gold and 3
Platinum Records (Canada)
- Ten Classical Kids CDs, including Beethoven
Lives Upstairs, Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage
and Tchaikovsky Discovers America. These
CDs have earned 6 Juno awards, several Parents’ Choice
Awards and over 75 more awards and honors
- Two Classical Kids films on DVD: the Emmy Award-winning
Beethoven Lives Upstairs and Mr.
Bach Comes to Call, which just this year earned 2
Emmy Award nominations
- The Classical Kids Teaching Edition, a
14-disc music-based comprehensive educational resource
including 9 CDs, 2 DVDs, and 3 exclusive bonus discs
featuring digital Teacher’s Notes, CD scripts and
slideshows. Individual Teacher’s Notes also available for
each of the Classical Kids CDs
- Five live symphony concert productions touring Canada
and the US with professional symphony orchestras: over 450
performances to more than 1 million children, parents,
grandparents and teachers
- Classical Kids CDs are available in over 50 countries
including the UK, Ireland, Australia, Spain and Hong Kong.
Two CDs – Beethoven Lives Upstairs and
Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery – are available
in French language adaptations
- Four beautifully-illustrated books based on the CDs –
two are available in Spanish
- Six instrumental-only Best of Classical Kids CDs
The Classical Kids series is marketed
by The Children’s Group, the leading presenter of storytelling
and classical music for children. The CDs, DVDs and Teacher’s
Resources are distributed in the United States and Canada by
KOCH Entertainment Distribution.
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